Yamal: Spain's victory is more important than my personal goals

Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal said his failure to score goals would not matter if his national team, Spain, won the FIFA World Cup, after the promising star once again failed to find the net during Friday’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium in Los Angeles.

In a tournament where stars such as Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Kylian Mbappe, Norway’s Erling Haaland, and England’s Harry Kane shone in terms of scoring, Yamal, 18, has scored only one goal so far, coming in a comfortable 4-0 group-stage win over Saudi Arabia.

Yamal said: “Of course I want to score, but I don’t go onto the pitch thinking about that. I do it while thinking about helping the national team.” He added: “If we win the World Cup, no one will remember whether I scored goals... The most important thing is winning.” This came after the victory in Los Angeles, which set up a semi-final clash with France.

He continued: “I know I can contribute even if I don’t score. I realize my movements attract many opponents, so I do everything I can to help the national team.”

Yamal was the breakout star for the Spanish national team, which won the European Championship two years ago, when he was just 16 years old. He scored one goal during that successful continental campaign and was outstanding in the 2-1 semi-final win over France.

Smiling, he said: “There is an idea that I should score more, as in the European Championship, but we won the tournament and I scored only one goal. I have one goal here as well, so I am comfortable with that.”

However, Spain will hope that Yamal, who turns 19 the day before Tuesday’s semi-final in Dallas, can add more goals if his national team is to overcome France, the prominent favorites who have been raining goals.

Yamal said: “There are two possibilities: either they reach the World Cup final for the third time in a row, or we beat them three times in a row. We will see what happens.” He concluded: “We are not afraid at all.”